Leak detection systems may be used to detect liquid leaks, such as water, fuel or hydrocarbons, for example. Leak detection systems are typically used in buildings or infrastructure that may be at risk for catastrophic loss due to liquid leaks, such as museums, data centers or fuel storage facilities. Leak detection systems commonly use a leak detection cable containing one or more wire circuits and a plurality of leak detection modules. Typically, the leak detection cable is placed at or near potential leakage sites and the system is configured to transmit a leak detection signal to an alarm system when a leak is detected. The leak detection system may include information about the location of the leak and the time that the leak was detected. A leak detection system likely requires a leak detection cable, a power supply and telemetry capabilities to transmit an indication that a leak has been detected to an alarm system.
Leak detection systems often utilize small, network instruments, such as sensor interface modules (SIMs) that are used to measure key electrical parameters of a four-wire leak detection circuit. The SIMs convert the measured analog values to digital data that can be transmitted to an alarm system including an alarm panel, which may indicate to users the presence and location of a leak. Even smaller “smart” connecters can be used within a leak detection system to provide leak detection at segmented intervals, such as every 15 meters of a leak detection cable. In this manner, many segments of a leak detection system can be independently and simultaneously monitored and reported.
Many current leak detection techniques use leak detection cables including four-wire circuits arranged in two loops with an end-of-the-line measurement system. However, such a system requires additional separate cables for power supply and telemetry functions. Other techniques for leak detection use more complex eight-wire systems that utilize dedicated wires for power supply, digital telemetry and leak detection within the same cable. For example, two wires may be used as the power supply, two wires may be used for digital telemetry and the remaining four wires may be used for leak detection. However, such complex systems require more expensive cables that include eight wires. Further, these eight-wire systems may not be compatible with many previously installed four-wire leak detection systems. Therefore, a need exists for a four-wire leak detection system that allows for power supply, telemetry and leak detection using four-wire cables. It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present improvements have been needed.